Allen Tightens D, Tops Easton 67-51 Scholastic Boys Basketball

December 11, 1985|by TED MEIXELL, The Morning Call

Allen made a subtle defensive adjustment near the end of the third period last night, blanked Easton for the first 3:16 of the fourth and went on to even its early-season East Penn Conference record (1-1) with a 67-51 triumph over the Red Rovers (0-2).

The Rovers made a close game of it for three quarters and, when Bruce Fuller knifed through for a three-point play with 11 seconds left, the Canaries' lead was sliced to 48-43. One major factor in Easton'sstayin g close was the scoring of Brett Fitzpatrick from along the baseline - he tallied a dozen points through the first 20 minutes.

But Allen coach John Donmoyer tightened the defensive screws on Fitzpatrick, and the Canaries pulled away.

"What was happening," Donmoyer explained, "was that every time Easton worked the ball to Fitzpatrick's side, it would go inside to him. When the ball went to that wing, both our wing man and a guard would go out on the ball. The change we made was to have the guard stay in and help with Fitzpatrick. We'd been using both a 3-2 and a 3-2 (zones), but they started to pick apart our 3-2 pretty good."

While Easton was struggling with turnovers and missed shots as the final period began, the Canaries ran off the first eight points and 12 of the first 13 to lead first by 56-43, then by 60-44. By then, the issue had been decided.

Most of the damage was done on the inside, with Shawn Erie, Kevin Warren and reserve Dan Fritchman controlling the backboards. In the decisive spurt, Warren tallied five points and Jeff Foster four - two of the latter's on a coast-to-coast romp with a stolen pass.

"Danny (Fritchman) gave us a lift, he played very well tonight," Donmoyer said. "So did Kevin (Warren) and Shawn (Erie). What we needed was that third big man on the boards."

Easton coach Stan Sutphen felt his club, for the second straight time, played well for three periods before unravelling a bit. "It was the same as last Friday night (in a loss to Emmaus)," Sutphen said. "That's two bad fourth quarters. The kids have got to learn that the games are four quarters long, not three."

Sutphen's main area of concern was rebounding. "I was very disappointed in our rebounding and aggressiveness," he said. "Not from everybody, but for us to win we've got to have five guys going to the boards. I think that's where we lost the game. Plus, there were a lot of loose balls in the lane that we just grabbed for but didn't go after."

Donmoyer felt the win was particulary important in view of the Canaries' early schedule. "There's a big difference between 0-2 and 1-1, especially since we have to go over to Emmaus Friday. And I know Stan (Sutphen) faces the same problem, with Central Catholic coming up."

To which Sutphen said, Amen. Not only do the Rovers face the Vikes Friday, they get Whitehall next Tuesday and the very real prospect of an 0-4 start. Not even the fact that the EPC is split into two halves this season was of comfort. "We start the second half the same way," he said. "And it'll be even worse, because three of the four will be on the road."